Compact smoker



April 18, 1950 w M, SE JR 2,504,597

COMPACT SMOKER Filed April 13, 1948 FIG .2.

INVENTOR. WILL/AM M SEN/A40, J2.

Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT FFIQE (JiQMPACT SMQKER William MI. Sewal'd, J r., Crystal City, Mo.,

Annlication-Aprilxm, 1948, Serial No. 20,802

2.01'alins... 1

This invention relates to, a com-pact smoker, and particularly to a folding; portablatype which maybe carriedin the pocket or; in a, purse.

The main object of my inyention'is to provide a compact folding smoker which may be opened todisplay a retainer plate upon-which cigarettes and cigars. may be laid and; also an ash. tray which normally is, disposed under the retainer plate when thecover. of the smoker is closed.

Another object is to. have. such a compact smoker in which the retainer plate upon;which the cigarettesmay be laid is provided with a large number of upwardly-directed supporting points which prevent the cigarette or cigar laid thereon from touching theretainer plate proper and provide suflicient ventilation to allow. complete burning of. the cigarette or cigar.

A further object is to have such a compact smoker in whichthe receiving plate for the cigarettes is replaceable, which, is also true of the ash tray of the same device.

It is also an object to have such-a compact, smoker made, in twoparts hinged together which so completelyfit together that they presenta substantially, air-tight container. preventing the escape of ashes or dirt therefrominto the pocketbook or pocket, when carried in the latter.

It is likewise an object of the inventionto. have such a smokers device which is small enoughto be unobtrusive and yet, contains. a sufficiently large receiving plate and. also ash tray as to be useful when the person using itis outin sports, at conventions, meetings, social gatherings, traveling on trainsor inthe air, in buses and cars, or at anyplace an ashtray is not. otherwise furnished.

' It is, of course, an ancillary object ,tohavesuch a portable smoking. device which is sufficiently capacious to retain, cigarette, stubs and, ashes until a convenient time occurs for disposalofthe same, while also being of such reasonable construction that it will be low in cost,

Other objects and advantages of theinvention,

will appear more, fully in detail as, the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of.

the features of this invention, the latter isillus+ trated'on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure l is aplan view of. a foldingcompact smoker made according to the invention andem: bodying the same, in a practical'form, thedevice being shown in fully openposition ready. forsuse;

Figure 2is a side; elevation of the samedevice in theopen position;

Figure 3 is'a. section through. the device. outline 3--3'in Figure l Figure 4 is a. perspective view of? the. invene tion when the device is in closed compact: cone dition ready to beputintoapocket or purse;

Figure dis a fragmentary section'taken. on line in Figurefi;

In the various views the same. reference nu.- merals indicate the same'parts.

It is frequently the experience of smokers that when they desire to lay. aside a cigarette. fora moment or perhaps dispose of the same, it isrstill lighted and may be a source. of danger or: at least a source of nuisance, and frequently requires to be freed from,ashesandvariousaother conditions arise, when smoking which-require at.- tention, but, all too. often facilities are lackingforgiving the cigarettethe proper attentio n,,or. at least if the ashes shaken, oil or'the cigarette disposed of, the danger threatened by the stub still. being lit may-remain anclashes about theflooror in other places may be a. serious source of trouble or. nuisance and inconvenience; and in .some placessuch conditions must be prevented. at all costs. Various makeshifts have been resortedtoheretofore, but nothing has-been gen=- erally. adoptedto serve the convenience'of smokers in this direction, especially for smokers who are present at conventions and meetings and travel in various vehicles; or even aircraft, trains, etc., where facilities: are absent for supporting lighted cigarettes and receiving the ashes therefrom and also for snubbing cigarettes andleav-ing the snubbed ends about, and hence there isneed for something toserve such convenience on-the part of a smoker usingcigarettes andcigars;

However, I have found it quite feasible t'o pro vide a. compact. device serving the above endsin' a very convenient manner; aswillxnow. be described;

Hence in: the practicenof my inventiomandirer ferringagain to-the-drawin'g,,the device which .1; term a compact smoker, enerally, indicatedata 6, includes a casing l and a cover 8 hinged there-- to by means of ahinge, 9, while-the edgel iii; of

the, casing l. is adapted. to meet .-edge-- ll of; the cover along a common line of cleavagagandiis, substantially. in line, when the, cover, is openras erally indicated at l 2, and consisting, of "side walls l3 and bottom M; spaced within. the outer. coven 8 proper and its top l5. The housing l2 proiects a short distance above the upper edge H of the cover 8 and is provided at the upper edge thereof with a bounding flange It bent out from said upper edge and serving to project into a correspondin recess l1 within edge ill of the casing I. It is thus seen that when the cover is closed, the edge ll! of the casing will close about the flange It in cover 8 so that the interior of the device will be quite tightly closed, and if these parts are made to interfit sumciently close, the contents of the device will be retained without danger of any odor or dust from ashes escaping therefrom. In addition to the foregoing, it should be mentioned that the device is, of course, furnished with locking means such as the finger-pressed catch l8 having the projecting finger piece l9 extending through a slot in the front wall 2! of the casing, said latch member being adapted to project into slot 22 upon the edge I! of the front Wall 23 of the cover. The cover may thus be closed and retained in closed position in a more or less conventional manner.

However, within the housing i2 in cover 8 is a retainer plate or block 24 preferably made of porous ceramic material, such as fire clay or the like, from which a large number of upwardlyextending points 25 project rigidly, being integral with said block and normally serving to support a lighted cigarette or stub so that the latter is retained out of contact with the upper face 25 of block 24, thus affording sufiicient ventilation for the cigarette to continue burning until entirely consumed. These points, which may be spaced about A of an inch from point to point, prevent condensation from extinguishing a cigarette burning on retainer 24. One pur pose served by the fact that housing i2 is spaced within the walls and top of the cover 8 is that any heat which is transmitted by radiation from a cigarette or cigar lying supported upon points 25 will not be communicated directly to the casing, but rather distributed through the block, and in that manner more or less dissipated and lost so that it will not do any damage. over, as the cigarette burning upon the points will be entirely consumed, one fire hazard is thereby eliminated, as only ashes will remain.

The casing 1 has a receiver or ash tray 28 within the same and may either be a removable tray made of any desirable material, such as glass, plastics or metal, etc., or even ceramic material, but in the present case it is shown as being of sheet metal and formed with a shoulder or flange 21 communicating directly with the recessed portion ll by joining the lower edge thereof and thereby forming part of the casing. The casing and the cover thus far described virtually form double-walled members, but it is, of course, possible to make them solid so that other materials, such as incombustible plastic or ceramics or the like may be used instead of metal.

Returning again to the infusible block 24, it is to be noted that the same is a separate replaceable unit, so that it will easily be possible to remove a block which may have become too satmated with smoke odors, nicotine and the like, and replace it with a new one costing but a few cents. However, while in the container it is intended that the block will be firmly held in place so that it will not accidentally be displaced therefrom. This end is accomplished by means of a pair of manually-depressible spring catches More- (ill 4 29 associated with the cover and having shoulder portions 30 adapted to engage the beveled edge 3| of block 24. The spring catches extend a suflicient distance downwardly to a point indicated at 32 in the side walls 33 of the housing l2 and are preferably integral therewith, so that said catches will be sufficiently resilient to allow the finger to press upon the upper end thereof and thereby cause them torecede a sufficient distance into their slots 34 to clear the block and allow it to be removed from the inner container.

While the casing and the cover forming the present device are shown substantially square with exteriorly rounded edges, yet this device could have some other geometrical form if desired, and especially would this be true of the ceramic block 2 1 which could be round, oval or have any other outline according to the whim of the maker. It would also be feasible to insert the casing l' with its ash receiver in appropriate positions on furniture and in various useful 10- cations, where the cover 8 with its ceramic block it will readily serve to close the device as already described. The supporting points 25 on the block are shown arranged in vertical and transverse straight lines, but the arrangement could be entirely diiierent if desired, that is, they could be arranged in circles or in other patterns as desired, this forming no particular feature of the invention.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used Without others within the scope of my invention, and as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In a portable compact, the combination with a receptacle having one end open and including a bottom and side walls and a cover hingedly connected to said receptacle for movement toward and away from the open end of the latter, of a cigarette rest mounted within said cover,

, said rest comprising a housing arranged in spaced relation with respect to said bottom and side walls of said receptacle and fixedly secured to said side walls, a retaining block positioned within said housing and having one face thereof resting upon a portion of said housing, means on the inner face of said housing engaging said retaining block for holding the latter within said housing, and a plurality of vertically disposed cone-shaped members positioned in spaced relation with respect to each and fixedly secured to the other face of said retaining block, whereby a lighted cigarette may be supported out of contact with the other face of said block.

2. In a portable compact, the combination with a receptacle having one end open and including. side walls and a cover hingedly connected to said. receptacle for movement toward and away from, the open end of the latter, of a cigarette rest. mounted Within said cover, said rest comprising a. housing arranged in spaced relation with respect. to said bottom and side walls of said receptacle,. and fixedly secured to said side walls, a retaining block positioned within said housing and having; one face thereof resting upon a portion of said. housing, said block having the edges of said one face beveled, means carried by said housing for engaging the beveled edges of said block for holding the latter within said housing, said last named means comprising spring catches havingv finger portions for engaging said beveled edges of said block, and a plurality of vertically disposed cone-shaped members positioned in spaced relation with respect to each other and fixedly secured to the other face of said block, whereby a lighted cigarette may be supported out of con- 5 tact with the other face of said block.

WILLIAM M. SEWALD, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 file of this patent:

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